ICG calls for wide cooperation in Iraqs reconstruction

The Belgium-based International Crisis Group (ICG), which has published a report on managing humanitarian relief in Iraq, argues that the most effective structure for guiding reconstruction would be a multinational effort under U.N. authority. ICG analyst Reinoud Leenders says that as well as the challenge of overcoming reluctance from the United Nations and the United States, this would require parties who opposed the war -- including NGOs -- to agree to work in close coordination with the United States.

Coalition forces have taken control of strategic points in Baghdad, but the scope of the humanitarian impact of the war in Iraq remains uncertain.

Regardless of the further course of fighting and its aftermath, there are bound to be new tragedies that will only compound the devastation of Iraq's economy and social fabric caused by two earlier wars, 12 years of sanctions and an authoritarian government far more intent on its own survival than on the well-being of its people.

Over the past several months the international humanitarian community and agencies from various governments have been making plans to assist the Iraqi civilian population.

But largely as a result of the political controversy and uncertainty that preceded the war in Iraq, planning and preparations have been plagued by inadequate coordination and resources.

On the one hand, many international donors and humanitarian agencies were loath to prepare for a war that many governments opposed.

At the same time, the U.S. government disclosed little of its plans.

This lack of coordination, insufficient or delayed funding, secrecy, strained civil-military relations and bureaucratic impediments means no one is as ready as they should be.

So far the humanitarian impact of war has not reached the magnitude feared by some humanitarian agencies.

Yet it would be wrong to downplay the potential challenges ahead.

In other armed conflicts, including the Gulf War of 1991, there was a delay in the outflow of refugees and internal displacement.

There is still a significant risk that civilians will be caught in fighting as the U.S.-led forces and Iraqi troops battle for control of major towns and cities - not least Baghdad.

Iraq was already facing a humanitarian crisis prior to the war. There has been a dramatic decline in virtually all social indicators in the past decade, and this war will make it worse.

In a report on managing humanitarian relief in Iraq, the International Crisis Group details a range of proposals to help minimise the impact of war and put the longer-term relief and reconstruction effort on the right track.

Despite the reluctance of the United Nations and the United States to accept it, the most effective structure would be a multinational effort under U.N. authority.

This will require those who were opposed to the war, in particular European governments and NGOs, to forget their differences over the war itself and agree to work in close coordination with the United States, putting their plans and their funds on the table.

And it will require the United States to relinquish a dominant role in the post-conflict humanitarian effort and hand it over to the United Nations.

Today, the fears are of excessive U.S. control over the relief effort and, within that, the unfortunate appearance (if not reality) of military pre-eminence.

The risk is that this will lead to the exclusion of many European and other non-U.S. NGOs that have considerable on-the-ground experience, and of the Iraqi institutions with which they worked.

Recognising the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) as the principal relief coordinator in Iraq would begin to address these concerns and make immediate and sustained relief efforts more effective.

Humanitarian cooperation also is a good place to start rebuilding the relationships that have been frayed by the prior diplomatic battle and the credibility of the United Nations that suffered in the process.

A U.N.-led humanitarian effort, working in close coordination with the U.S., with other governments and international NGOs and, crucially, with the numerous capable Iraqi groups and institutions, is the optimal way to proceed if the rebuilding of Iraq is to get off to a proper start.